Tire-making machine.



C. KUENTZEL,

I TIRE MAKING MACHINE APPLICATION FILED MILLS-1W5 1,27 3,07 1 Patented July w, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I alumni/tom E'uRT KUENTZEL C. KUENTZEL. TIRE mama MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MN. 25. I918- Pat'ented July 16, 1918 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2! FJvweu-i EUHT KUENTZ'EL UNITED STATES PigENT OFFICE.-

CUR'I. KUENTZEL, 0F YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE REPUBLIC RUBBER COM- PA, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TIRE-MAKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J uly 16, 1918.

' Amilioution filed January 25, 1916. Serial No. 74,119.

To all whom, it mag concern:

Be it known t at 1., Curr KUENTZEL. a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mehoning and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tire-Making Machines; and I do hereby de clare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art'to which it a ipertuins to make and use the some.

h 7 present invention relates to machines for building automobile tires, but more pan ticnlarly to apparatus for shaping or stitching into 1position the successive layers of friction faorio, Or other body materials em ployed in the process of tire building and for applying the same with perfectly Smooth unwrlnkled surfaces.

This invention, therefore, has for its priwary object accomplishment of the results aforesaid with unusual accuracy, certainty and recision, through the instrumentality ot'suitsble stitching rolls and novel mechanism for manipulating them. i

The invention has for a further objestthe production of. novel means for presenting stitching rolls to the surfaces operated upon at angles constantly varying with the curvature of suehsurfnces, and at all times up proximatings right angular presentation as the stitching advances from tread to bend lines.

A means which positively prevents. the stitch ing rolls from slipping while in passage,

over the curved surfaces of tire carcasses. A further object is i the roduction of novel. means wl-iereb the stitcliing rolls may be caused to trove similarly around the outer edges of tire-beads by a conl'inui' us op eration. 2 Vlitlrthe foregoing and other objects and advantages in view, the present invention further zxmsists in certain conrbinations of elements, novel details of construction, and arrangements of parts which will be here inafter particularly described and then pointed out in the appended claims.

In the. accompanying drawings which constitute art of the present up lication for letcnt, fulfil whereon 1i e characters further object is i the production at refer to corresponding parts in. the several news:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention assembled and ready for use.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the invention with parts broken away for the purpose of disclosing the manipulating and feeding mechanisms.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View also in side elevation, showing the feed-imt'locking and automatic 'rclcasin; m ans.

Fig. l is n detached detail view in side elevation of one roll-tilting link taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

.Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of an ordinary ring-core covered by a single layer of friction fabric or duck. showing also a single detached stitching roll inoperative position, and by dot and dash l nes its various operutivopositions with relation to the ring. core and tire carcass its the stitch.- ing progresses, and, T.

Fig. his a view corresponding with Fig. 5, but showing in addition tire beads applied, and substantially the angles assumed by stitching rolls while passing around such tire heads. L

Reference being had to the drawings and nuniernls thereon, 1 indicat s a cast iron frnme or support mounted us is usual with this class of machines, upon at suitable bedplute lnotshown) and adjustable thereon to provide for the manufacture of tires of varying diameters. This cost frame or support 1, as best shown by Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, includes psirnlleil top rails 2. 2 constituting a truck or runway, and a connecting late 3 projecting slightly above the plane 0 said tracks.

Mounted, upon the tracksQ, 2'is asled 4, also by preference of cast iron and of hollow formation having a corresponding cover or top closure 5 secured in position by ineiims of bolts such as 6, while de ending centrally from the loose of sled 4, etween rolls 2, 2 is u guide member 7' channeled transversely and closed beneath by a cover plate 8,- thereby constituting a housing for s lit-nut-9 the parts whereof may thus parta e of a relative transverse movement when occasion requires within the channel aforesaid of guide member 7. This transverse movement of the members or parts of nut 9 is accomplished by means of a pin 10 depending from each, which pins project through openings of liberal rcportions in opposite ends of the cover ate 8 aforesaid, and extend into oposit disposed segmental slots 11., 11 orme in an underlying cam 12. This cam 12 is pivotally secured beneath plate 8 by cated, a transversely arranged block 36' vance or feeding means of a headed screw 13 depending 'from thecenterof the plate, and is provided with a turning lever 14 projecting at one side through a horizontal slot 15 in the supportin frame-1 to open or close the split-nut 9. ilolmted beneath, and centrally with relation to the horizontal rails 2, 2, in suitable bearin 16 and 17 flanked by collars 18 and 1 res ectively, is a horizontally ar ranged fe ing screw 20 adapted to be engaged by split nut 9, and bearing at one end a beveled ar 21 constantly in mesh with a correspon ing car 22, keyed to a vertical driving shaft 2 which may be driven from any suitable source of power or prime mover (not shown).

Thus it is obvious that a forward thrust of lever 14 serves to close split-nut 9 upon the threads of feed screw 20, and that so long as held in this position the entire sled 4 and its attending arts will be advanced. For the purpose, t erefore, of rendering this adoperation automatic a feednut-lockin an re easing mechanism is P'l'uvided inc uding 11 depending bracket 24 bolted to the base of sled 4 as at 25, and having a rearwardly projecting horizontal link 26 ri 'dly ailixed thereto by means of nuts 2-7. ivotally mounted upon this link 26 by a pin 28 passing through its forked end, is a hook 29 from opposite sides of which project upper and lower unlatching levers 30 and 31 respectively, the former .or manual operation, and the latter adapted to he automatically operated by engagement at times with a fixed stud 32 projecting from the side of frame-1 directly into its path of travel.

Loosely supported in dependin bracket 24 there is also a reciprocating re 33 upon the rear end of which is secured a latch keeper 84 the same bei bifurcated to receive lever 14 to which it 1s pivotally secured means of a through pin 35; While interposedbetween this keeper 34 and the relatively fixed bracket 24 is a coil spring 36 surroundin the rod 38 as shown by Fig. 3. Within t a forward end of sled 4 is 10- slightly widened atits base, and slidingly retained by flanges 37, '37,:ising from the bottom of sled an integral partithereof, thereby providin fora s lght longitudinal movement of sai block 36 tween limiting stops 2 8,88 at each end thereof for purposes which will later appear. Aflixed tothe said block-tg near opposite ends thereof are vertical pivot pins 89, 89, upon which are mounted oppositely disposed levers 40 and 40 for imparting transverse movement to suitable shaping-rolls at the outer end of each as will hereinafter more fully ap ear. These levers 40, 40, each have rearwarr extensions 41, 41 provided with downturned pintles 42, 42, engaging arcuate slots 43, 43, in a common-disk cam 44 the latter being pivotally mounted as at 45 within sled 4; while projecting radially from the said cam, through a slot in the rear edge of sled. 4, is a handle 46 by means of which the cam 44 may be partially rotated one way or the other. The forward or advance end of le vers 40, 40 are outwardly curved and pro-- ject through suitable slots 47, 47, airtime front upper edge of sled 4, where they are ac corded a sliding bearing, in addition to which they find also a similar outer bearing near their operative ends, upon arcuate ribs 48-, 48 carried by forward extensions 49, 49 of the sled 4; at opposite sides thereof.

Pivotally mounted upon the same vertical pins 39, 39 immediately above levers 40, 40, is a corresponding pair of oppositely disposed intermeshing gear-sectors 50 and 51, one of which sectors, 50, is broken by an arcuate slot 52 engaging a relatively find pin 53 to prevent accidental separation of said sectors, and moreover this sector 50 is extended throughslo t 54 in the side of sled 4 to constitute a manipulating lever 55, as shown by Figs. 1, 2 and 3.. Immediately above these sectors 50 and 51 the aforesaid pivot pins 39 and 39 are spaced and connected by a tie bar 56, one end of which is shown broken away at the right of Fig. 1.

Within the confines of sled 4 both gear sectors 50 and 51 are equipped with pivot pins 57, 57-around which turn the inner ends of roll manipulating rods 58, 58, which latter, like their coiiperating levers 40, 40, project forward through slots 47, 4-7 in operative arnllelism to points where the are pivota ly connected to their respective evers 40 by means of links 59, .59, and pivots 60, 61 passin therethrough.

As 3 own by Fig. 4; the links 59 are each bifurcated to receive the outer ends of levers 40, and are provided centrally with outwardly projecting pintles 62 u on each of which are 'ournaled opposite y disposed stitching rolls 63 and 63, as shown by F1 1 and 2, Obviously, these rolls 63may mounted upon ball bearings if desired, and by reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 it Wlll be seen that the base of sled 4 may be emiip ed with a rearwardly rejecting cushion of rubber or other yie ding material arranged and adapted to, impinge u on plated connecting the rear end of true a 2, 2, whenever sled 4 is unturned to starting'position} the operation"- is as follower in been applied as usual to an ordinary revo ving ring-core b, the stitching or smoothing rolls 63 and 63 are presented, as diara'mmatically indicated by one of said rolls in Fig. 5, upon opposite sides of the tread section of the tire carcass in course of construction, with the said rolls so positioned that they, occupy substantially radial lanes with relation to the said ring-core, am with sled 4 retracted to its starting position upon tracks 2, 2, or a position the reverse of that shown by the drawings.

Lever 14 is now.thrown forward from the position shown by Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 1, which results in closing split-nut 9 upon the feed screw 20, in which position it is inter-- locked by engagement of hook 29 with keeper 3%, the spring 36 in the meantime being compressed. The sled'4 and attending parts are thus slowl advanced under influence of the power rivcn screw 20.

The operator by means of the handle 46, the oppositely disposed levers 4t]. 40, turning upon their fltltllllllS 3f), 3!), and intervening connections, now presses the rolls 63 against the material to be shaped as they are being advanced radially with respect to the ring-core, the degree of this pressure being thus manually controlled according to requirements. As this operation and application of the shaping rolls progresses to ward tho 'bead edges of the carcass under construction, the other hand of the operator is occupied in advancing the manipulating lever .35, which. by agen y of sectors 50 and 51, and their )ivotally "onnccted rods 58, 58 turn both lin cs 59, 5!) around their respective pivots 61, 61 in arcs transverse to the lane of the ring-core and the tire carcass 1n the process of formation thereon.

This tilting action of the shaping rolls 63 is thus also manually controlled, and results in a substantially right angular presentation of said rolls to the curved surfaces operated upon at all times. insures a more effective smoothing of the materials under treatment, and positively prevents the said rolls fromslipping radially as the work progresses, the latter being a very common occurrence with rolls which are not relatively passing the circumferential center of ringeorcs as indicated by the line A.\ Fig. 5.

It will be noted also that after bead-rings such as c, a have been appliedto a tire carcass, as shown by l' ig. (l, the smoothing or stitching operation proceeds without interruption. Herc also a quick nptnipulation of lever 55 changes the angularity of rolls 63 in substantial conformity with the curvature of the bead members.

Atlthe completion of a forward or advance movement of sled 4 upon its raceway 2, 2, as each layer of fabric is effectually rolled into position upon a tire car uiss, the

adjustable, and particularly after.

depending unlatching lever or finger 31 is" automatically tripped by engagement with stud 32 projectingfrom the side of frame 1, thus turning latch SEQ-upon its pivot pin 28 and disengaging it from its keeper 34, whcrcu on reaction spring 36 instantly rcturns t e lever 14, and discngages the split nut 9 from the feed screw 20, enabling the operator to return sled 4 again to its starting position. ()n the other hand. it it is desired for any reason to interrupt this advance movement of sled 4 before the completion of its course upon raceway 2, 2. this may be instantly accomplished by a touch of the u standing latch lever 30 with the thumb e an operator upon the hand with which he manipulates lever 55, the'result being the same as if latch 29 were tripped as before described. As stated the pivot pins 3.) and 39 are securely aliixed to and carried by block 36 which has a slight longitudinal movement between the stops 38 and 38 in order to compensate for a slight unevenness in the carcass surface caused by occasional fabric splices. These splices in variably cross the tire carcass diagonally so that both rolls "3 cannot at the same instant engage the same splice, and as a consequence when one of the rolls passes over a splice of this character the two are collectively shift ed in a lateral direction a distance equal to the added thickness of fabric, this being permitted by a corresponding movement in the opposite direction of the said block 36 and pivot pins 39, 39, carried thereby.

The foregoing being a description of my improved shaping or stitching rolls, and manually controlled. mechanism for directing and regulating the pressure thereof, in the best form of construction and arrangement of correlative parts at present known to me. itshould be understood that the said parts and arrangement thereof as shown and described, may be vairiously changed,

and rearranged, without in the least depart.- ing from the spirit. of my invention, and to all such changes, modifications and equivalcnts I lay claim the same as if hereinbefore set. folth.

Having thus described my invention, what I new claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for forming tire casings including, in combination. oppositely disposed manually controlled operating levers, a cam element for actuating said lovers in reverse directions, a manipulating rod adjacent each of said operating levers. a rollsupporting link pivotally connected to each of said levers and to its cooperating mani r ulating rod, a stitching roll rotatively mounted upon each supporting link intermediate its pivotal connections, and means for reciprocating said rods longitudinally.

2. A machine for forming tire casings inlinks each pivots 3. A machine for forming tire casings in-,,

cluding in combination oppositely disposed operating levers, manipulating rods ed121- cent said levers, roll-supporting links each pivotally connecting one of said levers with one of said rods at the outer ends thereof, a pintle projecting outwardly fromeach of said supporting links at right angles thereto and intermediate its pivotal connections, :1 stitchin roll rotetlvely mounted upon each of sai pintles, means for actuating said levers in reverse directions, and means for reciprocating said rods longitudine y.

In testimony whereof I effix my signature, in presence of two subscribi witnesses.

. 'CURT UENTZEL. Witnesses:

E'rnm. Jonnson, Geo. F. Lnwre. 

